The present invention relates to drive systems for automatic clothes washers, and more particularly to a clutch mechanism to be incorporated in a vertical axis washer having a planetary drive system.
Automatic washers having a direct drive system between the motor and agitator/wash basket require a clutch mechanism so that the washer will be able to selectively operate in an agitate mode, wherein the agitator is oscillated while the basket is held stationary, and in a water extraction or "spin" mode, wherein the agitator and basket are spun together. Conventional machines utilizing this drive system incorporate a spring clutch or a spline clutch with a solenoid to actuate the clutch, moving the clutch member vertically on the motor shaft to selectively engage or disengage a drive connection with the wash basket.
Spring clutch mechanisms use a wrap spring clutch, in which the torsional tension in a coil spring encircling a drive shaft is varied such that the coil spring selectively grips or idles on the shaft. In this manner, the motor drive shaft is coupled to the wash basket drive system. Wrap spring clutches are typically expensive due to the tolerances and process controls required for reliable operation.
Previously known spline clutch and solenoid mechanisms are usually complicated arrangements, requiring precisely machined mating surfaces and complicated actuation mechanisms. The complexity of such arrangements renders them relatively expensive and unreliable.
It would therefore be an improvement in the art if a less expensive and more reliable arrangement were provided which would nevertheless provide the necessary clutch function of shifting between the agitate mode and the spin mode.